Bahrain Family Information; Women's Role & Marraige Traditions

Bahrain is a small country located in the Persian Gulf neat Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Bahrain is a member of the Gulf States, which is a part of the Middle East. The Gulf States consist of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates. These countries are primarily Islamic and carry over the traditions that many muslim cultures also practice. Although there are still many differences from western culture seen in the Middle East, many changes have occured over the last several decades in the culture of Middle Eastern countries that mimic those of the western world.

Over the last few decades there has been many shifts in how Bahrain families are formed and how they live. They have adapted some portions of western culture that have benefited family structure in Bahrain. In the past, after marriage, the bride would move into the grooms current home with his entire family to live. Now couples frequently move out on their own after marriage to start a life away from their families similar to the tradition in the United States.

Although they have adapted somewhat to the western traditions, many aspects of traditional middle eastern families remain such as arranged marriages. "While arranged marriage is still common, the bride and groom often have a chance to meet before they marry. While it was traditional for girls to be married at twelve or thirteen years of age, they now tend to wait until they have finished their education and have a job." (Countries and their Cultures). Marriages are very large and extravagant and consist of up to 600 guests.

In Bahrain, the women of the household are responsible for all of the daily duties around the house including cleaning and taking care of the children. Bahrain has a tradition of treating women better than other Gulf State countries and other majority Islamic countries that regard women as an inferior sex to men. The children are treated differently as the boys are given more time to play than the girls who are given more responsibilities around the household.

Sources: 1."Countries and their Cultures". EveryCulture.com. 2007 Advameg. Inc. http://www.everyculture.com/index.html Bahrain: http://www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/Bahrain.html

2."Statistics on Bahraini Women". http://www.scw.gov.bh/media/pdf/statistics-Bahraini-Women.pdf. 26pp. 7/11/2009